Automatic weather strip



March 19, 1935M R. e. HAZZARD AUTOMATIC WEATHER STRIP Filed Dec. 16, 1933 FIGJ.

FIG. 2- 29 Iz j:-

30 ,ea INVENTOR.

Richfrd G.Hazzard ,2 yaw W ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 19, 1935 s UNITED STATES rssr oFFieE 1,,

' T v 1,994 45 AUTOMATIC WEATHER STRIP Richard G. Hazzard, Grand Rapids, Minn. Application December is, 1933, Serial 0. 702,800

I Claims. 01. 20-67) v The present invention relates to automatic weather strip raised upon initial opening move- Weather stripping for doors and the like and the merit of the door. primary object r the invention is to provide an Figur 4 is a ra e ta y ri tal tio automatic weather strip operated by'opening and thru the door at the'plunger of the eatherstrip 5 closing of the doorto completely close all openaetuatingime sg being ShQWh in a' o 5 ings under the door when the door is closed, and pos t o when the door is opened, to automatically raise Figure 5 is n nlar ed transverse'seetion thru e Sealing element and prevent rubbing during i the sealing or weather strip and its 'carrier and opening or closing of the door. showing the manner of adjustably securing the A further object of the invention'is to prostrip to the vcarrier. 10 J vide an automatic Weatherstrip forflthe lower Figure 6 is a fragmentary P a w Q portion .of swinging doors embodying an adjustweather strip and its carriel'l able sealing element or strip which may be ad- Figure iSaVieW showing a modified Q Tm f justed into contact with uneven floors whereby re ai eans for the weather strip. I

5 ,the opening beneath the door will be completely Referring tothe drawing in deta l a d Wheresealed when the door is closed. in similar reference characters designatecorre- Afurther object" of the invention is to provide pending pj'artsthruollt thesev a V h tautornatic weather stripping means for closing ter A des g at s a (1001 mounted i t e, the opening at the bottom of either inside or outthe 0 being d 310mg its ow d 0 side doors and embodying a pivoted sealing eleby the automatic weather strip designated by the 20 ment or strip automatically raised from a sealletter C. ni e. p e Shown, t door frame ing position upon slight opening movement of the A emb the lambs 5 to one ofwhichvthe 'door door and movable to a sealingposition just prior Ai's hinged as at 6. The jambs 5 are rabbeted to final closing movement ofth'ejdoor. s usua Provid n a t p s uld r 7 a ainst one A further object of-the invention is to provide of which the "freefior Swing edge of he'door g a swinging, automatically operated weather strip abuts when closed. In some types of door frames, which when swung to a sealing position provides a stop strip is placed along each face of 'the a seal along the face ofthe door" as well as'belambs to p ovidethe 'stops ou de s providing tween the door andfloor or'thre s hold. a stop foiithedoor. Extended between the lower A still further and importantobleot ofthe in ends of the James 5 is the threshold or 'sill 8 30 vention is to provide an automatic weather strip abovewh h, the door is disposed'when in a closed of this character which may be, attached to, either positionin the door frame. In" some instances right or leftjswin'ging doors', one which is small, andpartic ilarly in cases ofin'side doors, the sill compact and neat in appearance, and Iwliichl may 8 is, dispensed with so that the flooring continues 5- e:easilyinstalled without'defacing the door to unbroken thru? the doorway. IThe automatic 0 any objectionable extent. weather strip is equally applicable to doorways 'A still further object resides in the manner provided either with or withojutasill. of securing the flexible sealing strip' injanad Q'Ihe lwea'therfstripC maybe applied to either justable manner upon its carrier strip. inside 'oroutside doors and is automatically con- 40 Other'objects and van o e venti n trolled .b'y swinging movement of fthe [door/t0 40 will be apparent from the'following detailed defully closef any clearance space below the door scription, taken in connection vsriththe accom-t when closed.v The deviceffC comprises a metal panying drawing. forming a part of this specificacarrierstrip or bar pivotally connected at its tionand 'in'which drawingu upper edgeto one face of the lower portion of Figure 1 is a plan view of l the lower, portion the doonA' asby suitable hinges. 11 whichn'iay' 45 of a doonshcwriin a closed position and'proliave'one leaf secured'asby weldingorjrivetingjto' Vided W 1 au 9 .we ihe i il fdr 010S the carrier strip land the other leaves secured ing whateverlspace exists betweenthe bottom to the door asiby'small screws orpther fasten edge of thedoorand the floor. p ing elements as clearly shown "and Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentarysection on 3. Adjustablysecured along. the inner face of 50 the line; 2-}2Jofli'igure l andshowing the position .the,.pivoted carr ier strip 10 is a'seal-ing elernent f-.:th lwsaih s r pandit act a n m an 'w s in hei r fl a tr f fleisib em' ter tro the door is closed. a as felt, rnbber or the lilie and which strip'ex- -11? s. re ;,is ar rasmset ryls oti n v l's ends elow ol r r f s vd e h c r sian a lvssim e t openings 20.

justably connects one end of the link 18 with the slightly less than the width of the door A and the ends of the, sealing strip 12 project beyond the ends of the carrier strip for an extent so as to contact the door frame when the door is closed.

Referring now to the means for automatically actuating the sealing means upon opening and closing of the door, this actuating means is preferably applied to the lower portion of the free or swinging edge of the door and operatively connected to the sealing means to cause upward swinging of the carrier plate upon opening of the door and downward swinging of the carrier angular-shaped plate adapted for vertical swing-' ing movement upon the pivot 15. Pivotally connected at one end as upon the pivot pinl'l to the lower end of the lever 16 is a link 18 for" connection to the hinged carrier'strip 10.

An upper end portion of the carrier strip 10 is cut and bent outwardly at a right angle to provide a coupling portion 19 and this coupling portion is provided with a series of adjustment A removable coupling pin 21 adcoupling portion 19 and this pin may be inserted in either of the adjustment openings 20 to adjust the tensionv on the sealing strip 12 when closed against the door. I

Extended thru the door above the bracket 13 is a guide sleeve 22 in which is reciprocally guided a plunger ,bolt 23, the ends of which project beyond opposite faces of the door. The plunger bolt 23 is preferably formed. with a head portion 24 having a sliding fit in the sleeve 22 and a reduced stem portion 25 which is slotted at its outer end and provided with adjustment openings 26. A bushing 27 is secured in one ing for the stem 25.

Pivotally connected at one end as at 28 to the upper end of the lever 16 is a link 29 having its opposite end extended into the slotted end of the stem 25 and adjustably secured thereto as by a cotter pin or the like 30 extended thru the adjustment openings 26. The adjustment openings 26 allow for mounting of the strip ac: tuating means upon. doors of different thicknesses'and in the'example shown the device is mounted upon a door of minimum thickness.

Secured to the 'face of the jamb 5 at the free or swinging edge of the door to be engaged by the head 2 1 of the plunger bolt 23, is a preferably metal contact block 31. As the door is closed, the plungerthru striking this block 31 is forced thru' the sleeve 22 and thru the link 29, lever 16 and link 18 swings the carrier plate 10 downwardly andtoward thedoor thus bringing the sealing strip 12 into contact with the door and also against the sill 8.

Connected between the upper portion of the lever 16 and the upper portion of the bracket 13 is a contractile coil spring 32 which tends to normally swing the upper end of the lever toward the door and the lower end of the lever away from the door to draw the sealing strip out of contact with the door when the door is opened. 'En'circlingthe stem portion 25 of the plunger-bolt within the guide sleeve 22 with one end acting upon the bearing 2*? and its opposite end acting upon the bolt head 24 is an expansion coil spring 33 which acts to normally project the Referring particularly to Figures 5 and 6, the

.flexible sealing strip 12 is adjustably secured to theinner face of the carrier strip 10 so as to 'be raised or'lowered at points thruout its length to follow the contour of the floor or sill beneath the door when closed. Extending thru the lower portion of the metal carrier strip 10 at spaced cap screws having their threaded shanks BX- f tended thru adjusting slots 36formed at spaced intervals along the flength of the sealing strip. The adjusting slots 36 extend in a direction transversely of the sealing strip and permit ad-g justment of thesealing strip transversely off'thev carrier strip. Threaded upon the shankzof each" adjusting screw 35, is a-nut 37 for 1 retaining the sealing strip in adjusted position. .This adjust: able securing of the sealing stripuponthe carrier strip permits raising or loweringof the seal ingstrip at various points thruoutitslengthiso as to contact with an uneven floor or sill,

Extended along the inner or sealing face of the sealing strip 12is a retainer 38 which may consist of a length of wire of suitable gauge coiled as at 39 about the shank of each of the adjusting screws 35. Thecoils 39 providewashers to be engaged by the nuts 37 and this retaining wire, prevents the flexible sealing strip from slipping off over the'nuts 3'7. The retaining wire 38a1s0 serves to-hold the material of the sealingstrip in 1 firm contact with the inner face of the carrier strip 10 at points between the adjusting screws so that a perfect sealis formed between the sealing strip and carrier strip. The ends of theretaining wire 38 terminate just short of the ends of the sealing strip 12 to prevent marring of the" operation of the weather door frame during strip.

In the modification shown in Figure 7,3; thin metal retainer strip 40 has been substituted for l the wire retainer'38 shown in Figure 6. I, U b

When the door is in a closed'position asl in Figures 1 and 2, the flexible sealing strip contacts the face of the door so that no s'pace'is left between the door and strip permitting passageof air downwardly between the jsealing stripand door. Thesealing strip; is of slightly greater length than the width of the door'so that no air space isileft between the'ends of the sealing strip and the door frame when thedoor is closed." By observing Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that the sealing strip swings downwardly to a sealing position just prior to final closing movement of the door and is raised upon slight openingmove-I ment of the door from a closed-position. 'With this arrangement there will be practically no rub bing of the sealing strip upon the floor and the sealing strip is permitted to pass over rugs or" carpets overwhichthe doorswingsduring open ing and closing. 7 H Thusit will besee'n that the improved auto-' matic weather-strip operable by" opening' 'and closing of the door acts to effectively seal all openings along the lower portion of the door and embodies adjustable features whereby the sealing strip may be adjusted into contact with uneven floors or sills upon which the sealing strip closes.

Changes in details may be made to the form of invention herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim: I

1. In combination with a door, a Weatherstrip hinged along its upper edge to the lower portion of one face of the door, and actuating means for the weather strip embodyinga sleeve extended thru the door, a plunger reciprocally guided in the sleeve to project beyond opposite faces of the door, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends upon the door, a link connecting the upper end of the lever and plunger, a link connecting the lower end of the lever and the weather strip, spring means within the sleeve for returning the plunger and raising the weather strip upon opening of the door, anda contact block engageable by the plunger when the door is closed for swinging the weather strip into sealing position against the door and threshold.

2. In combination with a door, aweather strip hinged along one edge to the lower portion of the door, and means for swinging the weather strip into sealing position upon closing of the door comprising a bracket secured to the door, alever pivoted intermediate its ends upon the bracket, a link connecting the lower end of the lever and the weather strip, a guide sleeve extending thru the door above the bracket, a plunger reciprocally guided in the guide sleeve to project beyond opposite faces of the door, a link connecting the upper end of said lever and the plunger, spring means within the guide sleeve for swinging the weather strip out of sealing position upon opening of the door, and a stop block carried by the door frame to be engaged by one end of the plunger upon closing of the door for swinging the weather strip into sealing position.

3. In combination with a door, a weather strip hinged along one edge, to the lower portion of the door and provided with an out-turned coupling portion having a series of adjustment openings therein, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends upon the door, a link pivotally connected at one end to the lower end of the lever, means adjustably connecting the opposite end of the link to the weather strip at a selected opening ofthe series of openings in the out-turned coupling portion for varying the tension on'the weather strip, a plunger reciprocally movable thru the door and provided at one endwitha plurality of adjustment openings, a link pivotallyconnected at one end to the upper end of said lever, fneansadjustably connecting the opposite end of said last mentioned link to the end of the plunger at a? selected opening therein to compensate for doors of different thicknesses, a stop block engageable by the opposite end of the plunger upon closing of the door for swinging the weather strip into sealing position, and spring means for returning the plunger and swinging the weather strip out of sealing position upon opening of the door.

4. A weather strip for doors comprising a carrier strip, a sealing strip extending along one face of the carrier strip and provided at spaced points along its length with transverse adjustment slots, cap screws extending thru the carrier plate and projecting thru said slots, a retaining wire extending along the inner face of the sealing strip and provided with coils thru which said screws project, and a nut threaded upon each of said screws.

5. A Weather strip comprising a carrier strip, cap screws extending thru the carrier strip, a flexible sealing strip extended along the inner face of the carrier strip and provided with openings receiving the shanks of said cap screws, a narrow metal retainer extending longitudinally of the inner face of the sealing strip and having openings receiving the shanks of said cap screws, and a nut threaded on each cap screw for drawing theretainer into the sealing strip along a line intermediate the-upper and lower edges of the sealing strip.

RICHARD G. HAZZARD. 

